Political changes in Europe now represent a major threat to US dominance of the digital entertainment industry.
After some arduous early years in its native Sweden, the digital freedom organisation, the Pirate Party, is starting to win political power in other countries. It now holds 15 seats in the German parliament and is also active elsewhere, including the Middle East.
The party's aim is to fight for individual freedom, particularly in cyberspace. Attempts by the US music and film industries to stop people downloading copyrighted content for free from the internet have provoked a reaction from other countries, particularly from those in northern Europe. The Pirate Party is the spearhead of a looming digital trade battle between the US and the rest of the world.
"We aim to change global legislation to facilitate the emerging information society. Our primary goal is to legalise and facilitate the sharing of culture and knowledge, i.e. legalise file sharing. We also seek to safeguard the ability to observe, report and share in other ways," says Rick Falkvinge, the Pirate Party's founder.
Legalising file sharing would enable private individuals to exchange digital copies of digital files of their favourite music, also allowing internet surfers to visit "pirate" websites to download the latest Hollywood blockbuster or a new computer game for free.
The videogames industry, which has overtaken Hollywood in revenues, alone is worth an estimated US$60 billion (Dh220bn) a year, according to the analyst company Robert W Baird. Music, publishing, film, TV and computer software companies all rely on selling digital versions of their products. When the value of all digital content is taken into account, the US stands to lose hundreds of billions of dollars a year should the Pirate Party triumph.
But the party believes the US's near monopoly on the global entertainment industry is stifling creativity in areas such as the Middle East's film industry. Hollywood studios spend hundreds of millions of dollars on producing and marketing the latest blockbuster movies, leaving local film makers short of funding.
"Today's copyright and patent monopolies are primarily constructed to benefit the US, through the World Trade Organization and Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights treaties. Honestly, I can't see why the rest of the world doesn't see it for the trade war it is," says Mr Falkvinge.
According to the Pirate Party, far more is at stake than simply handing over multibillion industries to the Americans. The laws used in the US to punish file sharing are already draconian. In some states the penalty exceeds that of manslaughter. And the US is determined to impose its digital copyright laws with equal force outside North America.
"The danger lies in today's power holders getting to create a society full of censorship and wiretapping in order to enforce ridiculous levels of the copyright monopoly. If that happens, we will have a Big Brother state of dystopic proportions, which is the opposite of the openness and transparency that the Pirate parties strive for," says Mr Falkvinge.
Until now, the Pirate Party has been seen as largely toothless outside its native Sweden. But its 15 seats in the German parliament together with growing political representation globally, are already enabling the party to push through legislation aimed at disarming international copyright laws.
"Those 15 seats make sure that all parties move their policy heavily in the direction of the Pirate Party's policies," says Mr Falkvinge.
"The voting rights in parliament are a bonus, but don't make the primary difference. A Pirate Party succeeding in Germany - or Sweden - will influence parties in neighbouring countries, even if the Pirate Party there isn't as successful. In their minds, the other parties will add the word 'yet'."
The Pirate Party is already active in about 50 countries as it intends to spread its policies everywhere where the internet is present. The party is officially recognised by the respective election authority in 18 countries. It is particularly strong in Europe and Latin America. However, its presence in the Middle East is largely limited to activists discussing the ideas, although there has been some political activity in North Africa.
"Most interestingly in a UAE context, a Pirate, Slim Amamou, has been part of the cabinet in Tunisia … following the revolution there," says Mr Falkvinge. But he adds: "He left the position as the transitional government instituted censorship at request of the army, which is antithetical to Pirate Party ideals of openness."
The party's policies may be shrouded in idealistic phrases such as "ideals of openness" and "the ability to observe, report and share in other ways". But at its core is a desire not only for a level playing field for entertainment industries outside the US in regions such as the UAE, but also to ensure freedom of access to all the world's cultural assets for everyone.
business@thenational.ae
Cricket World Cup League Two
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Fixtures
Wednesday January 8 –Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 – Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 – UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
Reputation
Taylor Swift
(Big Machine Records)
SPECS
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Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company%20Profile
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'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra
Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa
Rating: 4/5
The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
Points to remember
- Debate the issue, don't attack the person
- Build the relationship and dialogue by seeking to find common ground
- Express passion for the issue but be aware of when you're losing control or when there's anger. If there is, pause and take some time out.
- Listen actively without interrupting
- Avoid assumptions, seek understanding, ask questions
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Director: Paul Weitz
Stars: Kevin Hart
3/5 stars
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 575bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh554,000
On sale: now
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinFlx%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%202021%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amr%20Yussif%20(co-founder%20and%20CEO)%2C%20Mattieu%20Capelle%20(co-founder%20and%20CTO)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%20in%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20size%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%241.5m%20pre-seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Venture%20capital%20-%20Y%20Combinator%2C%20500%20Global%2C%20Dubai%20Future%20District%20Fund%2C%20Fox%20Ventures%2C%20Vector%20Fintech.%20Also%20a%20number%20of%20angel%20investors%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
RESULT
Huddersfield Town 2 Manchester United 1
Huddersfield: Mooy (28'), Depoitre (33')
Manchester United: Rashford (78')
Man of the Match: Aaron Mooy (Huddersfield Town)
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
